AUSTIN — Congressional Democrats and immigrant rights groups say a new list of border security priorities from the Trump administration are inhumane and serve more as a ransom note than legitimate policy suggestions.

The White House released the list of priorities Sunday night, stating that it would only consider legislation aimed at turning the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, into law if lawmakers approve funding for a border wall and other sweeping measures — including a crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities.

"Without these reforms, illegal immigration and chain migration, which severely and unfairly burden American workers and taxpayers, will continue without end," Trump wrote in a letter to House and Senate leaders Sunday.

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, called the list of priorities "a nonstarter" and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said the suggestions lack "basic humanity."

The Trump administration announced its intentions to phase out DACA in September, giving leaders in Congress six months to come up with a legislative alternative. The program protects minors who entered the country illegally as children from deportation and awards them two-year work permits.

"Holding immigrant youth like my sister and I hostage unless the rest of the country buys into a racist mass deportation agenda is immoral and disgusting," Greisa Martinez-Rosas, advocacy director at United We Dream and a DACA beneficiary, said in a statement.

The announcement of these priorities came days after a deadline for a number of DACA recipients to renew their protections, a cutoff selected by the Trump administration for beneficiaries whose protections were slated to expire within the next six months.

Under the administration's initial plan to phase out the program, individuals under DACA — often called Dreamers — will be protected for the remainder of their two-year period of deferred action, but no new applications will be accepted.

Democratic leaders in Congress had hoped to strike a deal with the Trump administration on a DACA replacement, and some early reports indicated that negotiations over the proposal would not include discussion of a border wall.

However, Trump's list of immigration principles released Sunday lead with securing funding for a border wall. The list also includes a call for laws surrounding unaccompanied minors to be changed to remove legal limitations that protect minors from being deported.

“Trump is asking Dreamers and immigrant communities to accept the unacceptable, all in exchange for a very limited DACA-like program, with no pathway to citizenship," Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, said in a statement. "This proposal confirms that President Trump does not care about young immigrants or their families."

O'Rourke said he hopes pressure from immigrant communities and bipartisan support in Congress for a legislative alternative to DACA compel Trump to "do the right thing," although he said the priorities included on the list are concerning.

“What’s so disappointing is that the passage of something that is so critical for literally hundreds of thousands of our fellow Texans, that it’s being held up in the politics of border security," O'Rourke said in an interview Monday. "This is so disappointingly dumb."

Nearly 125,000 DACA applications have been approved in Texas since 2012, making it the state with the second highest population of recipients. California has about 224,000 recipients.

Nationally, nearly 800,000 applications have been accepted since the program was launched in 2012.

While U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, did not comment on Trump's specific suggestions, he said he supports a bipartisan solution for DACA recipients.

“To ensure that the 800,000 young men and women who have only ever known America get to stay in their homeland, the best path forward is still through bipartisan legislation from Congress," he said in a statement.

A portion of Hurd's congressional district extends into El Paso County.

Castro, meanwhile, urged his congressional colleagues to reject "this warped, anti-immigrant policy wish list" and said Trump's plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is a political stunt that will waste taxpayers' money.

"The White House wants to use Dreamers as bargaining chips to achieve the administration's deportation and detention goals," Castro said in a statement. "Instead of welcoming people from around the world who wish to put their talents to use in America, the Trump Administration seeks to cut opportunities for legal immigration."

U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, expressed support for Trump's immigration proposals and said improving border security is a priority for the entire country.

“I am glad to see President Trump’s plan for combating illegal immigration, which includes building a border wall, limiting funding to sanctuary cities, and increasing immigration enforcement," he said in a statement.

Various proposals seeking to fund some version of a border wall have been introduced in Congress. Last week, the House Homeland Security Committee approved a bill from U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, to allocate $10 billion for border security infrastructure, "including a wall where necessary."

O'Rourke and U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, introduced a bill last week that would prevent the federal government from using eminent domain to seize private property along the border for the purpose of building a wall.